--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In portrait photography there is…" description: "\"In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png" --- # In portrait photography there is something more profound… ![“In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is that the inside is recordable only insofar as it is apparent on the outside...Very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than…” quote by Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png) > “In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is that the inside is recordable only insofar as it is apparent on the outside...Very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe.” [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Portrait photography seeks inner truth, but the medium can only capture outward signs of that inner world. **In simple terms:** Photos show inner feelings through outward signs. Key Takeaway Look beyond the surface. Themes art perception identity Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - portrait sessions - gallery shows - artist statements Key Concepts visual storytelling human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you capture unseen depth? - What cues reveal inner truth? A Different Perspective Camera cannot fully reveal hidden emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facade/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Portrait photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait-photography/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [I prefer black and white and portrait photography. I like old, you know, interesting faces, so I think black and white brings out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-beckham/i-prefer-black-and-white-and-portrait-photography-i-like-old-you-know/) [Brooklyn Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-beckham/) > [I'm really interested in street photography. Also landscapes, wildlife photography, animals, portrait photography of people, and I calibrate my photos. I don't leave them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefanos-tsitsipas/i-m-really-interested-in-street-photography-also-landscapes-wildlife/) [Stefanos Tsitsipas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefanos-tsitsipas/) > [Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is the one they would like to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sensitive-people-faced-with-the-prospect-of-a-camera-portrait-put-on-2/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [In the business of portrait photography, one must combine the artist and the craftsman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-fabian-bachrach-jr/in-the-business-of-portrait-photography-one-must-combine-the-artist/) Louis Fabian Bachrach, Jr > [Portrait photography never had any charms for me, so I sought my subjects from the house-tops, and finally from the hill-tops and about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-jackson/portrait-photography-never-had-any-charms-for-me-so-i-sought-my/) [William Henry Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-jackson/) > [I believe that street photography is central to the issue of photography—that it is purely photographic, whereas the other genres, such as landscape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/i-believe-that-street-photography-is-central-to-the-issue-of/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [“Professional Headshot Photography service based in Dubai, UAE. Providing Business, Actor, Celebrity and Model Headshots and Portrait Photography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/professional-headshot-photography-service-based-in-dubai-uae/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's shot by Ben Rayner who I think is very talented at doing portrait photography as well as fashion photography. His images never look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/it-s-shot-by-ben-rayner-who-i-think-is-very-talented-at-doing/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [“It’s the difference between your wife’s passport photograph and the portraits you took when you got engaged. Both may have been created with similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchemin/it-s-the-difference-between-your-wife-s-passport-photograph-and-the/) [David duChemin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchemin/) > [“A society where feminine beauty is defined not by the human self on genuine intellectual and sentimental grounds, but by a computer software on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/a-society-where-feminine-beauty-is-defined-not-by-the-human-self-on/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sensitive-people-faced-with-the-prospect-of-a-camera-portrait-put-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [The severe portrait that is not the greatest joy in the world to the subject may be enormously interesting to the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/the-severe-portrait-that-is-not-the-greatest-joy-in-the-world-to-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Your inside person doesn’t age. Your inside person is soul, is heart, in the eternal now, the ageless, the old, the young, all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-inside-person-doesn-t-age-your-inside-person-is-soul-is-heart-in/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Happiness is inside you, not with another person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/happiness-is-inside-you-not-with-another-person/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“It's a phenomenon that I've often observed without understanding it. Inside someone another person can exist, a fully formed, generous, and trustworthy individual who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hoeg/it-s-a-phenomenon-that-i-ve-often-observed-without-understanding-it/) [Peter Hoeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hoeg/) ## More by Irving Penn > [Photographing a cake can be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/photographing-a-cake-can-be-art/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I am a professional photographer because it is the best way I know to earn the money I require to take care of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-am-a-professional-photographer-because-it-is-the-best-way-i-know-to/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [A beautiful print is a thing in itself, not just a halfway house on the way to the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/a-beautiful-print-is-a-thing-in-itself-not-just-a-halfway-house-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I share with many people the feeling that there is a sweetness and constancy to light that falls into a studio from the north…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-share-with-many-people-the-feeling-that-there-is-a-sweetness-and/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I feed on art more than I ever do on photographs. I can admire photography, but I wouldn't go to it out of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-feed-on-art-more-than-i-ever-do-on-photographs-i-can-admire/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Sometime in 1964 I realized that I was a victim of a printmaking obsession, a condition that persists today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sometime-in-1964-i-realized-that-i-was-a-victim-of-a-printmaking/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Liberman said to me, 'I must cut back on the work you do for Vogue. The editors don't like it. They say the photographs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/liberman-said-to-me-i-must-cut-back-on-the-work-you-do-for-vogue-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Many photographers feel their client is the subject. My client is a woman in Kansas who reads Vogue. I'm trying to intrigue, stimulate, feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/many-photographers-feel-their-client-is-the-subject-my-client-is-a/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Working on photography is working on oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/working-on-photography-is-working-on-oneself/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I've tried a few times to depart from what I know I can do, and I've failed. I've tried to work outside the studio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-ve-tried-a-few-times-to-depart-from-what-i-know-i-can-do-and-i-ve/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicates-a-fact-touches-the-heart/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousands-of-hours-silently-brushing/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I can get obsessed by anything if i look at it long enough. That's the curse of being a photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-can-get-obsessed-by-anything-if-i-look-at-it-long-enough-that-s-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [What I really try to do is photograph people at rest, in a state of serenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/what-i-really-try-to-do-is-photograph-people-at-rest-in-a-state-of/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sensitive-people-faced-with-the-prospect-of-a-camera-portrait-put-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) [Explore all 24 Irving Penn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## More Behinds quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is that the inside is recordable only insofar as it is apparent on the outside...Very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irving Penn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/in-portrait-photography-there-is-something-more-profound-that-we-seek/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/in-portrait-photography-there-is-something-more-profound-that-we-seek/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/irving-penn-24767_behinds_in-portrait-photography-there-is-somethi_1908983.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully…” — Irving Penn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Irving Penn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In portrait photography there is something...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/in-portrait-photography-there-is-something-more-profound-that-we-seek/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/in-portrait-photography-there-is-something-more-profound-that-we-seek/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```